Celebrating 27 years

Bowls

A game of skill and tactics that attracts a league of dedicated players and fans. Lawn bowls is a great way to keep fit and stay active. Once regarded as “old man’s marbles”, it continues to grow in popularity with all ages and both sexes enjoying a roll-up.

Lawn bowls allows both sports men and women to compete enthusiastically at their own level of social and pennant games. The game lends itself to a variety of formats being played as singles, double, triples, fours and mixed varieties.

Writers on the game of Bowls in their opening statements use expressions such as…bowls appears easy to play…the game is deceptively simple…not physically strenuous. These statements appear to be a fair description for the novice and to those who simply play the game for its recreational appeal and sociability. To others the game is considered to be both an art and a science.

At the fully competitive level there is intense rivalry and scope for individuals or teams to pit skill against skill with the full range of subtleties that apply to any other game of sport.

The challenge for the player is to deliver as many of his/her bowls as close as possible to the jack with the opponents of course striving for a better outcome and with each side striving to knock any of the competitor’s well placed bowls out of a scoring position. The game begins with the jack, a small round ball, being rolled the length of the green. The players then bowl in turn, either trying to place their bowls as close to the jack as possible or aiming to displace an opponents well positioned bowl. The winning side is the one with more of its bowls closer to the jack than the other side.

Considerable skill is required to roll the bowl exactly as one would wish. The highest point of the bowl is slightly off-centre giving the bowl a bias, so that when bowled it follows a curving path down the green. Bowls can be specially personalized for the player.

Lawn bowls is a very social activity that incorporates friendly competition with a comradeship, among mates. A quiet and relaxing sport, it requires the skills of concentration, patience and observation combined with a good technique and delivery skills which are learnt over time and with practice.